Festival, Field, Farm, and Forest: Part 2

Festival

Every October our family celebrates the French and Indian War before Halloween. (What?!?!)

Well, here is the thing. In Ligonier, there was a British fortification along time ago. And now, there is a museum that commemorates the fort and the history. And it is recognized as a National Historic site. And generations of people have come to the fort to see what it is all about. And on one particular weekend in October, every year, thousands of people flock to Ligonier for a bunch of different reasons.

When a 2-year-old arrives at Fort Ligonier Days, she tries to grasp the magnitude; the history; the fellowship. She patrols the crowd. She soaks in the drizzle. No precipitation, no matter how strong, will rain on this parade. As the bands start to play and the horses gallop, she spots the reason why she has come this far...

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

Pure joy is when a rain-soaked man in a hot dog costume, waving from his luxurious wienermobile, captures the eye of a little girl. She loves him for what he is - a rain-soaked man in a hot dog costume - and she loves hot dogs, having no concept of the pig they once were. It can only be described as a magical moment between a heartfelt fanatic and a ballpark frank.

I haven't cried in public in a long time.

Field Trip /Farm

That same 2-year-old did not participate in a field trip to Vale Wood Farms the following Monday. She was a bit under the weather, maybe still under a cloud of mist and magic from Ligonier. Alas, my wife and I accompanied my 4-year-old to Vale Wood for two solid hours of pre-Halloween hysteria.

We started with a tractor ride. The weather was perfect autumn - a shining sun, crisp air, and a farmland smell. My eldest daughter was not convinced it was a real farm. She expressed this to me as we were being pulled by a tractor. Her contention was that real farms had more than cows. She was quite disturbed. I reassured her that Vale Wood Farms was real and not some Hollywood set in Loretto. My words were meaningless.

Then, we saw two pigs. Authentic farm. Soon to be hot dogs, but nonetheless, authentic farm.

After the hayride, there was plenty to do. Vale Wood has a water balloon launcher constructed into wooden poles to send gourds into the atmosphere. There is even targets to aim for or small children if you are some sort of madman. Gourd launcher - genius with a touch of danger. If you want to steer clear of flying gourds, the corn maze offers confusion and of course, corn. My daughter was initially bored by the concept, but once we got into the maze, she lit up like a jack-o-lantern. It was a fun walk amongst the stalks. It was time for lunch.

My lunch was pumpkin a la mode. It was pumpkin ice cream topped on a pumpkin gob. It was healthy because A) milk does a body good and B) pumpkin is a vegetable. If you had ever viewed the expanded version of the food pyramid, you would find pumpkin a la mode in fine print at the peak.

Thank you Vale Wood - for the cows, for the pigs, for one great pumpkin party!

Field

On the 3rd Saturday of October, the field was out in harvest glory for the Red Cross Vampire 5K/10K. This annual run supports a tremendous organization. Dressed as a pumpkin, I separated from the patch and enjoyed the sunshine and Halloween spirit. Costume camaraderie was all around.

I treated myself to a maple glazed donut after crossing the finish line. Year after year, race after race, I enjoy seeing the community in motion - on the pavement, on the trail, around town. Runners and walkers set the stage for the next generation so they just don't sit at home and eat maple glazed donuts. Eat maple glazed donuts after crossing a finish line.

Special thanks to the Red Cross for organizing this great seasonal event. Thanks to the Johnstown Running Club for their growing initiative - to organize an exercise-enthused community.

Forest

Saturday afternoon was reserved for Mom and Dad time. Mom and Dad time @ Royal Berkshire, the regal nickname of Berkley Hills golf course. My wife and I hit many a tree, but lost no balls to the forest. It was 9 holes of mediocre, splendid golf. It was our autumn Master's.

As October leads to November, get out and enjoy our landscape while you can. Do not be foolish and prescribe to a myth that there is nothing to do in Johnstown.

Like Frankenstein, Johnstown is alive.

Live it up.

Festival, Field, Farm, and Forest

Festival

The Bedford Fall Foliage Festival could also be named "The Bedford Fall Mass of Humanity Festival". It is that rare occasion where I happily enter into a congested sea of people. On the 2019 Saturday that my wife and I walked the streets of Bedford, the weather was awesome autumn. Everyone and their autumn mother was sipping on apple cider and searching for Christmas gifts. 

My wife and I have treated the Bedford Fall Foliage Festival as our Christmas wonderland. She creates this Santa-style spreadsheet of relatives that have been nice over the last year. I wander thru tents using gut reactions that spruce up in the autumn air. We hold hands as long as we can. Not out of love, but out of safety. It's like Bedford bumper cars on those streets. 

Our pumpkinhead kids did not attend the Fall Foliage of 2019 because they had a scheduled sleepover at their grandparents' residence. Good for them. 

Field

In a land called Schellsburg, there are bison. Upon leaving Bedford, you can quickly adventure out of the mass of people to view the massive beast that is the bison. Standing upon a hillside, one glorious bison was visible from Route 30. Across the street, there is The Bison Corral, a gift shop for the ages. A part of me wanted to be more National Geographic and be in the field with the bison. My wife wanted no part of that. Alas, we walked into the commercial corral. 

I did not make a purchase, but I could have bought Native American artifacts, a coffee mug, and pounds of bison meat. Talk about sprucing up somebody's Christmas. I appreciate small businesses like The Bison Corral. If you find yourself on Route 30, I recommend a stop and the view. 

Also, according to the website, bison can run up to 35 MPH and weigh up to 2,000 pounds. Listen to your wives and stay out of the field. 

Farm

This October Saturday finished at Summer Smiles Honey Farm. Our first Saturday of October was a kid-free autumn adventure so we obviously concluded it by slumbering on a honey farm. In Stoystown, Summer Smiles Honey Farm is there for the taking in all four seasons. 

There are multiple lodging options on this property. We stayed in the "Tiny House". Tiny it twas and it twas terrific. In contrast, the surrounding acreage was expansive and for exploration. I made barnyard friends - human and animal. We shared parenting tips with a couple expecting their first child. I befriended goats. We awoke to Cock-A-Doodle-Doo. Fireside chats occurred outside our chalet. The stars shined. I looked up into the night sky and thought about my kids. 

I thought, if we ever come back here, they can sleep at their grandparents' again. 

Forest

On Sunday, I got back to my roots - my Stackhouse park roots. My daughters have become trail blazers under my tutelage. My 4-year-old understands the concept of Leave No Trace. My 2-year-old sometimes understands that large sticks can be weapons. 

In surrounding countryside communities and neighborhood nature, there is always an opportunity to learn and explore. 

Part 2 of Festival, Field, Farm and Forest will be written later this October. Hold on to your horses and pumpkins. 

Autumn Academics

On the final weekend of this September, and the first weekend of autumn, I drove my family to Plymouth, Massachusetts and back. I, the Clark Griswold of the bunch, did my best to drive safe and learn valuable lessons along the way. Here is my Top 10 lampoon:

10. The back of the bus can be beautiful.

We were not driving to Plymouth to see the rock (incredibly underwhelming). My wife's college roommate was getting married. My wife was a bridesmaid. My daughters were the flower girls. I was Clark Griswold. I was behind the wheel for the entire New England odyssey except for when we rode a school bus to the ceremony.

My daughters headed straight to the back of the bus. There is a country song that goes "there is a lot about life you learn on the bus, how to lie, how to fight, how to kiss, how to cuss". In my recollection, the back of the bus was indeed some sort of bandit cove, where villians and mongrels gathered.

On a sunny Saturday in 2019, I watched two little girls in white dresses stare out the window, side-by-side in angelic harmony. There was no lying, fighting, kissing, or cussing. My 2-year-old was fascinated with the emergency exit for a short period, believing it was some sort of magical lever to a parallel universe. I calmly told her to stop or we would ruin the wedding by falling out into traffic.

9. When in doubt, go see Dr. Seuss.

At the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, there is a Seuss quote that reads, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not". 

No pressure, Doctor. We spent a full morning adventuring through the aquarium, getting eye-to-eye with turtles, octopus, and a rainbow of fish. My favorite encounter was with a giant Japanese spider crab. Claw to claw, this aquatic monster can grow up to 13 feet. Yikes.

I encountered the spider crab in the Men's bathroom.

Just kidding.

8. Don't eat the blue lobster.

There was a blue lobster at the aquarium. He was not clinically depressed. He was actually and stunningly blue. The blue lobster caretaker gave us a lot of factoids about the blue lobster, including that you are to not eat the blue lobster.

I think she told us this because my daughters were circling the crustacean's waterway like piranhas. "Sir, can you tell your children to back up. I think they are hungry."

7. If you are depressed, jump on a jumping pillow.

We spent one night at the Mystic KOA in a superb and cozy cabin. When we got out of our Subaru, I led my family to the jumping pillow. We could have spent an eternity on this bouncy innovation. Under the Constitution State sun, our family of 4 bounced up into the heavens like carefree kangaroos.

6. The lobster roll is a winner.

In Plymouth, I ate my first lobster roll. I've consumed lobster before, but never the roll version of the crustacean. When I asked the server for a "blue lobster roll", I was looked upon like some seaside scavenger, a bumbling barbarian from Pennsylvania.

In all seriousness, my lobster roll was red. Red like love. And it was delicious.

5. Nothing beats continential breakfast.

What genius declared breakfast continental? In Plymouth, we had 3 mornings of around-the-world-most-important-meal-of-the-day grub. When you take small children to a continental breakfast, there is so much less anxiety. You don't have to worry about ordering. You don't have to wait. You just take one bite out of a muffin and move on. Dabble in Fruit Loops. Combine juices. Melt hearts by simply being a family of 4 trying to survive a continental breakfast.

4.  I don't care.

During the wedding reception, my wife and I were the only people with kids. Our flower girls were the only girls. As the dance floor caught fire, the band Icona Pop blazed a trail of glory with their song "I Love It". The refrain, "I don't care, I love it, I don't care" echoed in the Massachusetts wilderness. The actual band Icona Pop was not present. DJ T-REX was behind the tunes.

When you are dancing with your family to DJ T-REX and Icona Pop, you have climbed the Clark Griswold mountain and planted a fatherhood flag on the summit.

3. I care.

This actually has nothing to do with my family's most recent trip, but it is worth commentary. Once when my 4-year-old got her finger smashed in a door, I did not emotionally react. One, I did not think the injury was life-threatening. Two, I was poised. When I got her in the car, and she was presumably emotionally stable, she uttered the following:

"Dad, you know how Mom like cares when we get hurt?  You don't care. You like don't care."

And it is times like these when I think of a thirteen foot Japanese spider crab dragging me out into the open ocean.

2. Home is sweet.

We left Plymouth at 7:30 A.M. on the final day of September. We got back to Johnstown around 8:30 P.M. that night. A lot happened in between. God delivered fog and rain to make the final hour a real doozy. In the end, we safely entered into our humble abode. We dreaded laundry. We yearned for continental breakfast. We were exhausted.

Our daughters were eye-pierced excited.

1. Alas, October.

The 10th month of the year is one of my favorites. The autumn air rolls in as the summer sun says goodbye; however, I did do a slip-in-slide on 10/3/19 in Johnstown. It was 80+ degrees and I let the good times flow.

I can only hope October is as good as this September. I love to travel. I love my home.

Be good to your neighbor and family this fall. Treat every day as if it were a blue lobster - rare, awesome, and bright.